“Why not?”
That was Angel Cabrera’s answer Tuesday when asked why he came back to Augusta as a past champion for the first time since 2019.
The 55-year-old’s last six years were more turbulent than anybody else who owns a green jacket. The 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters champion went to prison in 2021 after being convicted of domestic violence in his native Argentina.
After 30 months served, Cabrera was released in August 2023 on parole and returned to the PGA Tour Champions later that year. Three days before his Masters return, he wonthe James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational for his first Tour-sanctioned event in 3,927 days.
Many of his former and current competitors have supported him despite what he did.
“I’m very grateful and obviously the people of the golf world are very great with me and I just appreciated the way they treated me,” he said.
And Cabrera said he repents his past actions.
“Obviously, I regret things that happened and you learn from them,” he said, “but at the same time those are in the past and we have to look forward what’s coming.”
He knows he’s not the player he used to be. The three-time PGA Tour winner now averages 290 yards off the tee. When he won the Masters 16 years ago, he was No. 8 on Tour in driving distance at 304 yards.
Just a few years ago, it appeared Cabrera’s time at Augusta National was over, but he never looked that far ahead.
“I never thought of that, I just let things pass,” he said, “and I never thought either I was going to come back or not, it’s just the way things happen.”
Wednesday at Augusta National, Masters chairman Fred Ridley was asked about Cabrera’s return in light of some women's rights groups who have protested.
"Well, we certainly abhor domestic violence of any type,” Ridley said. “As it relates to Angel, Angel has served the sentence that was prescribed by the Argentine courts, and he is the past champion, and so he was invited.”
Some are glad he’s teeing it up this week. Adam Scott, who beat Cabrera in a playoff at the 2013 Masters, told the Associated Press last week, “I can't wait to see him.” Cabrera waspart of the Masters Champions Dinner Tuesday night, with moderator Ben Crenshaw welcoming “El Pato” back.
Understandably, there are detractors—and Cabrera is at peace with that.
“I respect their opinion,” he said, “and everybody has their own opinion.”
But he’s thankful for his second chance.
“Life has given me another opportunity,” he said. “I got to take advantage of that and I want to do the right things in this second opportunity.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Angel Cabrera Back at Masters After Jail Time, Thankful for ‘Second Opportunity’.
